Upfest 2012

June 2nd, 2012

The statistics speak for themselves: 3 days of painting by over 250 leading graffiti artists from 20 countries creating 20,000 square feet of art work within a 2 mile area of Bedminster / Southville in Bristol. Upfest 2012 is now in its 5th year and is the biggest yet, maintaining its status as Europe’s largest urban art festival.

Mindful of the weather for this Diamond Jubilee weekend, we shut up shop on the Saturday to wander down and take a look. Apart from seeing some familiar faces such as Inkie, Andy Council, Stik, Dicy, SPQR, Duncan Jago, 3Dom, Lee Ellis and Cooper, we were also pleased to renew our acquaintance with Rich Simmons and meet his friends the Essex Rockerz.

All in all it was an excellent afternoon and the rain was kind enough to hold off until the evening. Congratulations to the organisers and volunteers who made it such a pleasurable event, and to the local community. Special thanks go to the Spotted Cow and Hen & Chicken for their outstanding bar staff and beer. A word of warning about visiting the Tobacco Factory though – don’t do your supermarket shopping first because they won’t let you in if you happened to purchase any alcohol.

Click here to see an event map.